2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

QueenJess

Back at work today, but feel a bit odd after a couple of days of no eating and I can only eat about a half of what I used to be able in one sitting.  Will try to take things a bit easy.

After being stuck in bed watching random stuff to entertain myself, I watched a load of videos on decluttering clothes last night and so decided to make a start on mine (I've been putting it off for a while) before I get back to the longer kitchen decisions. 

I've been through the everyday clothes hanging up in the wardrobe, but have yet to tackle drawers, random clothes lying around, shoes and the small wardrobe with my work clothes and event/nice stuff.  I randomly challenged myself to see if I could get rid of 30%-50% of what was there as I know I don't wear it all.  Based on my decluttering today, I seem to consistently be able to get rid of 30% in there.  So this will be my new standard for clearing out drawers and cupboards.  No issue if I don't meet that, but I am currently in no mans land where I don't have hundreds of clothes, but neither am I minimalist enough that I only have stuff I wear and fit.  I find it makes it a bit harder to weed things out as they tend to be a bit less obvious and the constant decisions I also find wearing. 

By giving myself a number or percentage challenge and/or watching people more minimal than myself on videos, it gives myself enough to challenge myself whether I really do wear and like the stuff I have.  I still find the decisions wearing and so I did this in 5 min bursts.  As soon as I found myself dithering over decisions I did something else and came back.  To be honest I still think I have too much in there, but 30% is obviously as much as my brain can do in one go, so I will stick with that and anything else can go in another round at a later date.  As long as things are going then it is going in the right direction.  I must now remember to do a one in one out policy with my clothes so it doesn't get out of control.

Will see how I feel this afternoon as to whether I tackle that spice drawer next or more clothes.  The 10 items a day seems to have gone out the window at the moment as I am doing way more than that.  I'll put it back in again when I get to another decluttering lull to keep challenging myself.

15,325 - broken box (tip pile)
15,326-15,327 - Spice jar used up (recycled)
15,328-15,334 - tops (charity bag)
15,335-15,336 - skirts (charity bag)
15,337 - jumper (charity bag)
15,338-15,339 - bag (charity bag)
15,340-15,341 - dresses (charity bag)

vulpix

second photo may be of interest to someone. 

Siebrie

hahaha! What a cute cat, and so happy!

QueenJess

Back again!  Whilst I was making my lunch I sorted out most of the spice drawer, although I feel like a bit of a cheat as I wanted to do it last night but needed to lie down so I took photos.  I then noted down which ones were to go over the course of the evening so it was quite easy.

About 40% of stuff left that drawer in the end.  I now have a big pile of jars to wash that I will run through the dishwasher to get rid of the spice smell and then put on Buy Nothing.  I haven't counted the c. 10 or so jars to be washed yet as incentive to actually get them washed, dried and put on Buy Nothing!  Once I've done that I'll count them. 

I also got interrupted by the arrival of my knife block, so I also cleaned out the cutlery drawer and arranged my knives in there.  It fits perfectly and looks so much better.

Sadly back to work now, so further kitchen/clothes decluttering will probably wait until tomorrow now.

15,342-15,348 - spices in food waste/empty containers recycled/food bank

GreenFairy

Two bags out the door thanks to freecycle. Scented candles that I didn't like the smell of, and some kitchen bits. I've another bag of kids art supplies (duplicates) ready to go too. 

Cosleeper and some baby clothes have been sorted and are ready to drop off at my sister in laws - so exciting!!! Need to rummage out the bedding for it, and the power supply for the baby swing and those can go too. Attic still stuffed to the rafters!

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks to include MMiM - do this before I go to bed

2. Commence ‘Operation Frog Tickling’ I have an acronym - I.R.I.S. being Identify, Research, Implement, Sign Off 

3. Implement a new sleep/wake up regime - start going to bed earlier (target before 2:00 a.m.) get up earlier (target by 9:00 a.m.)

4. Deal with ‘Urgent’ daily mail immediately & the rest at the weekend

5. Don’t put it down, put it away

6. If I spot a mini task deal with it immediately e.g. refill olive oil pourer or salt cellar, stitch up a hole in a garment etc

7. Continue to keep kitchen clean & tidy - before going to bed

Having gone to bed so late, I finally got up around noon 😔 to another lovely sunny day 😊DH was up & about early as he had been waiting for a delivery - unfortunately the delivery is tomorrow 😅 The desk leg has been sanded & undercoated but is taking time to dry even though it is gloriously sunny again 😔 DH is now putting in new cables for the internet so had to empty the area next to table again 😉 Ducting up the stairs dismantled, old cables removed & new cables put into ducting & covers clipped back on. Whilst I was doing that DH put the missing baluster back in 👏 Looks very odd as it had been repaired & painted. I have vacuumed the area again & returned everything so it looks like the pic. I posted 😔 Unfortunately it really highlights the urgency of decorating including new carpets 😔 The bathroom renovations will be getting bumped again - probably to next year 😉 The only other thing I have done is put away the contents of the veg box & recycled the box (the wheelie bin had finally been emptied after 2 weeks 🥳) 

1426 Cardboard box recycled 

1427 Office detritus binned

Florenceem, no lie-in just busy, busy, busy 😉 Hope MrF is having a good day today 😊

GrannyKate, I will just have to wait for your next rhubarb crumble 😉 Well done on getting to Z in the family history review 👏 Hope DGS4 has a good school trip 🤞

Deni_debt-free_dreamer, I’m with you - no hob pictures from me either 😂

Florenceem, wow he did a really good job on both the oven door & the oven 👏 All I noticed was how clean the floor is 👏🥳 

Well said 2Scratters 👏 you read my mind 😉 Sounds like the back bedroom will soon be in use as intended 😉 Nice to only have to put things ‘in’ - a testament to your decluttering skills 👏 Although you have had to spend more money to have the extension plans amended, better to do it before building work commences 😊

Siebrie, how very entrepreneurial of both your DDs 👏 Fingers crossed that their items will sell at a good price 🤞 A win, win, win - they didn’t ask you for money, they are decluttering & earning a bit of money for themselves 👏🥳 No wonder you are proud Siebrie 🥹 DD1 is obviously learning well - removing a potential clutter hotspot is high level decluttering 👏 One medal 🏅 coming to DD1 👏 Is the table suitable for sale? 😉 I do vaguely remember you mentioning that schoolwork has to be kept - something to do with a child/young person being chosen to bring in previous schoolwork as part of an auditing system to make sure that the curriculum is being followed & that the teachers are doing their jobs properly, I think 🧐 

vulpix, sounds like an interesting journey but always less stressful when well organised 🙂 Sadly the issue with weather dependent travel is that it can bring out the worst in people 😔 I had almost forgotten that you & bit_by_bit were holidaying together 😊 I hope that the weather is kind, the travelling is trouble free & everything is open 🤞Oh 🤩 what an amazing & extraordinary piece of knitting 🥳 Enjoy your day out with MrV 😊

Siebrie, stunning is the word 👏 I am really looking to seeing your macramé piece 🙂

Watty1, pleased that my comment didn’t cause offence 😉 Well done on such a huge achievement of representing yourself in court 👏 A medal worthy accomplishment so one medal 🏅 on its way 😊Great work reclaiming a drawer in the filing cupboard 👏

QueenJess, please do take it easy now that you are back at work 🙏 You do still need time to recover fully 😔 Especially as you were still planning your decluttering whilst ostensibly ‘resting’ 😉 Excellent work on decluttering your clothing 👏 Great idea to challenge yourself 😊 I think I really need to get on board with that idea 🤔 Are there any particular videos you can recommend to get me seriously thinking about where to start on my wardrobe declutter 🙏 Please don’t overtire yourself with the decluttering 🙏

vulpix, that picture rather creeped me out 😧 Although the pictures of the two lovely cats have restored my equilibrium 😊Gorgeous house & stunning surroundings 🤩

More excellent decluttering QueenJess 👏 Even recovering from illness doesn’t stop you for long 😉 I think you & Florenceem must be related 😊 What a great idea taking photos of the spice drawers & then making the decisions 👏 If I can remember, I might ‘borrow’ that idea when I tackle the kitchen cupboards & drawers again 🧐 

Hello GreenFairy 👋 Nice to see another new face 😊 Excellent decluttering so far 👏 Always so gratifying when you declutter various items at once 😊 Good luck tackling the contents of the attic 🍀Remember one box/bag at a time 😉 You will soon notice a difference 😊

DH got distracted from sorting out the cabling 😉 He decided that as he had various tools out when putting back the baluster, he would tackle the 3 balusters at the top of the stairs (pic 1) Task aka Cane Toad completed (pic 2)

Pic 1

Pic 2

All tools returned to their rightful places in the garage 🥳 The desk leg has now been glossed & is hanging up in the garage 👏 Useful tip that DH picked up from online was to screw in a hook 🪝 to aid hanging to dry 🙂 Simple idea but very effective 👏 I should mention that none of the tasks DH has tackled today were on my To Do list 😔 even though they should have been 😉 A case of ‘selective blindness’ on my part 🤣

DH has now put the new cabling under the desk & plugged into the computers. They do both work which is a bonus 👏 Now need to vacuum the office carpet before tidying away the cables into the ducting. A couple of parcels have just arrived for DH so

1428 - 1429 Cardboard & plastic packaging in appropriate wheelie bins

MrsSD (a superwoman) 😇 🎖💐🤩🏅🦸🏅💐🏆 💐🍰🍾🌟⭐️🌟 💐🏅💐🏅💐💐💐🏅💐 ⭐️ ❤️🏅🍾🏅 📣🦸‍♀️

DH Awards: 🥇🏅⭐️💐🏅 perseverance medal 🎖️ 🥇 🏅🏅 

Decluttering Target 2023: 1429/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £166.90

Dfw38

And we're off...! 4 bags to cs filled with kids clothes, a few toys and books. Dcs winter duvets washed and drying on the line.

Brie

eye appointment today - yes I still have a freckle on the back of my eye (major medical scare about 12 years back met with the opthamologist's comment "oh yes, a freckle!").  But also a young cataract - not a complete surprise as it was mentioned a year back but is still ok.  Apparently however it's the sort that will be ok, ok, ok, suddenly not ok unlike your bog standard cataract.  And nothing to do with the freckle.  So that's a declutter I have to look forward to.....(but hopefully not for a few years)

On the pluser side I took in with me 5 pairs of prescription glasses dug out of various drawers.  3 are very blah so I've asked for those to be recycled - apparently there's a charity that checks them out, labels them with the exact prescription and they get matched with people needing those in (I think) Africa.  Better than chucking in the bin.  The other 2 pairs are prescription sunglasses that I can no longer wear (too many scrips back) but I love the frames.  Unfortunately they quoted me £200 to put new sunglass lens in one pair and nearly £500 to sort the other pair as varifocals.  Think I better go to Spacsevers where I originally bought both pairs for a total of £99.  

And on the really pluser side I've picked up a car full of shop stuff from a local department store (Beales in case anyone's local) that's being refitted as flats.  Chap on freegle offered shelving units etc mentioning that it was a shop and I asked if he had any pamphlet display thingmes.  Net result is not quite what I was after but includes a huge whiteboard on telescoping tripod legs and a lot of those little A6 size plastic poster holders - the sort that would shout "30% off socks" or whatever.  The point of getting things was for the food bank where I work and I'm sure we'll be able to use the white board and a couple of the display units.  But the A6 poster holders will be great for people in my art group - just the thing to use to display our little masterpieces without the fuss of dealing with a proper frame.  

QueenJess

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger I quite like to watch decluttering with more extreme minimalists as the extremes help to challenge whether I really want that stuff and shows me what is possible.  Not that I necessarily want to be that sparse.  I've been watching the A to Zen life on YouTube the last couple of days as she is a more extreme minimalist.  Here is a link to her wardrobe playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm4yjWLr3FU&list=PLuvKKRbMBrm_e8ZbSpG03qwtmYkApMiG_ .

I find her very normal and she says sensible things about her clothes like things not being perfect, but she will keep something for now if it satisfies a purpose and she doesn't buy containers but reuses cardboard boxes that are lying around.  There are also lots of videos about sentimental decluttering that she struggled with if anyone has similar struggles on here.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, I didn't sleep well again last night but I had to be up quite early for a union meeting which was then cancelled. As it was quite urgent though it has been rearranged for tomorrow. I then had to do quite a bit of running around to view a property, make several phone calls and text messages to sort out getting keys etc for the meeting tomorrow. While I was out and about OH asked me to pick up a new baby card as we are visiting tomorrow afternoon. Back home in time for a quick coffee over the fence with ln and then out to the second union meeting. While I was out OH had decided to do some cooking to take with us for the parents to have in the freezer. The fridge now has no room in it at all. I had grabbed a sandwich after the meeting which was just as well as there is no where I could have prepped a meal when I got home. Hopefully this will be sorted while I am at the meeting tomorrow morning. I did manage to empty the bedroom bin and bedroom recycling so at least something has been done today. I am still trying to catch up on the posts but I can feel my eyes drooping so I will say hugs to anybody who would like one

794 meeting rearranged
795 meeting decluttered
796 bedroom bin emptied
797 bedroom recycling emptied
Take care everyone
797/2023